


Navigating the Distance

by kaleidomusings



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane Has No Chill, Neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-07-28 19:29:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16248320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidomusings/pseuds/kaleidomusings
Summary: Magnus is warm and heavy after a night of drinking when he gets home and finds a man asleep outside his apartment door.





	1. Chapter 1

Magnus is warm and heavy after a night of drinking when he gets home and finds a man asleep outside his apartment door.

The first thing Magnus notices about him is how tall he is, with strong arms and attractive legs. The second is that he’s wearing a rumpled suit, tie undone and shirt unbuttoned, exposing the curve of his neck. But what really catches his attention is the length of the man’s dark eyelashes and flushed cheeks. The soft noise he makes through parted lips as he breathes. 

After staring for an embarrassing amount of time, Magnus clears his throat and mentally shakes himself. 

 _Get it together, Bane_. 

He considers calling the police, but he notices the keys clutched in the man’s hand and assumes he’s one of his neighbors who just had a bit too much to drink. He kneels down to touch the man’s shoulder and shakes him gently. 

“Hey. You all right?”

Those gorgeous lashes flutter and beautiful hazel eyes open, the very sight of them making his breath catch. 

The man blinks up at Magnus and slowly looks around, taking a long moment to process where he is and what he’s doing. Clearly he had _a lot_ to drink tonight. 

“Who are you?” he asks hoarsely. 

“I’m Magnus,” he says and helps the man sit up. “And you?”

“Alec.” He squints at him, pouting his lips as he thinks. It takes all of Magnus’ self control not to propose marriage right then and there. “Have we met?”

“I don’t think so,” he replies honestly, which is more the pity. Then again, he’s only moved in less than a year ago. He hasn’t had the chance to meet all of his neighbors yet. “But I suppose there must be a reason you’re sleeping outside my door.”

The man -Alec- frowns in confusion. “Your door? Are you sure?”

Magnus fights a smile, finding him absolutely adorable. “Pretty sure.”

Alec huffs and moves to lay back down, but stops when Magnus tugs on his arms to keep him in a somewhat upright position. “No wonder my keys weren’t working.”

“How about I help you to your apartment?” Magnus offers. “What floor do you live on?”

“Fourth,” Alec says and struggles to stand. “And I can get there myself.” 

His face turns a startling shade of green and Magnus reaches out to steady him when his knees buckle, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel sick,” Alec whispers, and Magnus has just enough time to unlock his door and drag him to his bathroom before he vomits the entire contents of his stomach. 

Magnus stays with him the entire time, rubbing his back and smoothing his dark curls from his sweaty forehead. Once Alec looks less like death and only pale and a little shaky, Magnus helps him to bed, pulling off his jacket and shoes. He leaves Alec’s belongings on the bedside table to grab later. 

Alec collapses onto the mattress with a groan as Chairman Meow wanders over and leaps up as well, curling against his chest and purring. Alec reaches out with a trembling hand and strokes Chairman Meow with a gentleness that belies his size. It makes the cold dead thing Magnus calls a heart squeeze at the sight. 

Once he gets him to drink water and wipes his face with a wet towel, he asks softly, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Alec’s gaze flickers to meet his before he glances away. There’s a long silence where Magnus thinks he won’t answer before he finally admits, “My best friend got married today.”

Magnus can tell there’s a story there, but he doesn’t push. He lets Alec gather his thoughts and to explain only if he really wants to. 

“I’ve been in love with him since we were kids. And I’m happy for him. Really I am. But today at his wedding…”

He trails off and Magnus leans down, running his fingers through Alec’s soft hair. “You wish you told him?”

Alec shakes his head. “No. I know Jace never felt the same, and Clary is great when she’s not annoying the hell out of me. It’s just—” 

His eyes meet his and Magnus wishes he could drown in them forever. 

“It made me realize that I’m never going to get what I want. That I’ll never be what my parents want me to be.”

Magnus blames it on the alcohol in his system when he says, “You deserve everything, Alec.”

He smiles and it’s a frail and bitter thing. “Sure.”

“I mean it,” Magnus says and climbs into bed to press against Alec’s back, wrapping his arms around him. “If you could fall in love with me, I would give you anything you want.”

There’s a soft sigh and then Alec reaches for his hand, cradling it against the curve of his hip. “It goes both ways, you know.”

As his breath evens out and he falls asleep, Magnus lies awake as a memory comes to mind. 

It was the morning he moved in and his front door was jammed, refusing to open no matter how much he pulled on it or twisted his key. Then the most beautiful man he’d ever seen came up in a sweaty shirt and running shorts to help, yanking the door open and -with a frown- said he’d report the issue to management. Magnus told him not to bother, that he could do it himself and not to go out of his way, but the man shrugged. 

“We’re neighbors now. You would do the same thing for me, wouldn’t you?”

Magnus never got his beautiful neighbor’s name or ran into him again and he’s beating himself up for not recognizing him until now, but hey. He’s only human. 

Besides, they can talk about it more after they’ve had a hearty breakfast to fight off the hangover and sober up, because Magnus doesn’t want to let this one get away a second time if he can help it. Not again. 

It won’t be easy and he can only imagine the landmines they’ll set off through trying to make things work, but Magnus has never shied away from a challenge. 

After all, it was Alec who opened the door. 

And Magnus, standing at the threshold, only has to take the first step. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for [Lichtertanz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lichtertanz/pseuds/lichtertanz).

“Hold the door please!”

Alec does so immediately, more out of habit than anything else, before noticing a giant bouquet of flowers with legs hurrying toward the elevator. 

“Much obliged,” the flowers say and then shifts around to reveal a man in a strangely flattering green suit. “Do you mind pressing for the eighth floor?”

Alec nods, trying not to stare at the man or his bouquet, but failing miserably. 

The man catches him looking and shrugs, a wry smile on his face. “The flowers are for a friend of mine,” he explains. “Although _why_ I have to go out of my way to deliver them is beyond me. I’m not a postman.”

He sounds a little irritated, but he seems nice enough, with a deep voice and distinctly British accent. 

Alec offers a faint smile back. “I’m sure your friend appreciates it.”

“Not when he finds out what it’s for,” the man mutters until something lights up in his eyes. 

It makes Alec instantly nervous. 

The elevator dings as it reaches his floor, but before Alec can escape, the man shoves the enormous bouquet in his arms and jumps out instead. 

“It’s the apartment at the end of the hall,” he says and waves as the elevator doors shut behind him. 

Abandoned, and holding a surprisingly heavy bundle of flowers, Alec gapes at his dumbfounded expression reflected in the metal. Then the elevator reaches the eighth floor, and he decides there’s nothing he can really do but _act as a postman_ , as the man in the green suit put it. 

But when he reaches the door at the end of the hallway and recognizes it, it’s too late to back out. He pauses, unsure whether he should just leave or how he’s supposed to knock with his hands occupied, when the door suddenly opens. 

As relieved as he is, Alec almost drops the bouquet when he meets the dark, soulful eyes of Magnus Bane. He’s dressed in a silver shirt and black pants, with a wine colored silk robe draped artfully over his shoulders. Everything about him is stunning, from his inky black hair to the dark eyeliner, and when he smiles, Alec’s eyes drop down to the curve of his mouth. 

“Alexander,” Magnus says and when he glances back up, there’s a pleased sparkle in his gaze. “What a nice surprise.”

Alec blushes, remembering how he had been so drunk after Jace’s wedding and collapsed outside Magnus’ front door, thinking it was his own apartment and not the one belonging to the neighbor he had a crush on since they first met. But thankfully Magnus was kind enough to let a complete stranger in and cared for him while he was sick, even held him as they both fell asleep in his bed. 

The next morning, Alec woke up mortified and tried apologizing profusely, but the other man just laughed. He was delighted when Alec insisted on making them breakfast, but when Magnus asked him about himself, his responses were painfully short and awkward. Still, when he tried to leave with what little dignity he had left, his hair messy and suit rumpled, Magnus reached up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. 

Alec stared, his face flushed and heart pounding, and asked if they could see each other again. With a gracious smile, Magnus agreed and even gave him his phone number. telling him to call him with a wink. 

They’ve been on a few dates since then despite their busy schedules, which was usually dinner and then drinks at Magnus’ apartment. Each one ended the same way, which was them on the couch, sharing slow kisses that makes his chest hot and tight. 

It hasn’t escalated beyond that, no matter how much Alec wants it to, because he’s not ready for it, and fortunately Magnus understands that. He doesn’t push and seems more than happy to just lay with him, and lacing their fingers together. 

“Are those for me?” Magnus asks with amusement and Alec jolts, realizing that he’s still standing on his doorstep with a ridiculous bouquet and feels like an idiot. 

“Y-yeah,” he manages to say and holds them out. “I met a man who said he’s your friend.”

Magnus digs around in the flowers and finds a small white card. “Was he dressed all in green? Cranky and British?”

“Um.” Alec thinks that description is a little unfair to the man he met in the elevator, but he has to admit it _is_ very accurate. “I guess so.”

Whatever Magnus reads on the card, it makes him frown and he tears it up viciously. Alec glances down at the bits of paper littering the floor and wonders if the flowers are going to get destroyed in the same way. The bouquet is heavy and his arms are getting tired. 

“Who’s it from?”

“Someone with a black heart and who deserves every misfortune that comes his way,” Magnus replies. But he takes the flowers and gestures Alec inside with a smile. 

Alec steps inside and closes the door behind him, then pauses uncertainly in the entryway, even as Chairman Meow trots over to curl around his ankles in greeting. Despite having been here before, he still feels like an intruder more often than not. But Magnus puts the flowers away and comes back, taking Alec’s hand in his and pulling him toward the couch to sit down, while the cat loses interest and wanders off. 

“Care for a drink?” he asks. 

Alec shakes his head and instead carefully places his hands on Magnus’ waist, his fingers brushing the waistband of his pants as he tugs him closer. Magnus steps into the space between his legs, eyes dancing as he cups Alec’s face between his palms.   

“Magnus, I’d like to kiss you,” he admits and is rewarded when Magnus’ gaze softens. 

“Then don’t hold back.”

Alec tilts his head up at the same time Magnus leans down to kiss him, heat coiling in his belly as the kiss deepens and the hands on his face trails down to his neck, curling over his jumping pulse. 

There are words he wants to tell Magnus someday. He won’t right now, because their relationship is still so new, but he knows that these feelings will never change. He knew it when he woke up on the floor and found the most beautiful man he’s ever seen standing over him, and he knew it when they woke up in bed together. 

Because for as long as he lives, Alec will never forget the way Magnus looked that morning, his makeup smudged and clothes wrinkled, the sunlight shining on his hair and turning it a beautiful shade of amber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of commas were abused in the making of this chapter. But please leave kudos and comments! I've also been inspired by the Malec sneak peek and the beautiful casts' big wins at the People's Choice Awards, so I'm hoping to update my other fics soon but feel free to come talk to me at [kaleidomusings](https://twitter.com/kaleidomusings). I'm also taking prompts there as well, so don't be shy!
> 
> In case you were wondering, the flowers Ragnor were delivering to Magnus were from Raphael. Because they have an antagonistic relationship but care about each other deep down. ...Maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was a thing I wrote. 
> 
> My headcanon is that the reason Magnus doesn’t recognize Alec is because he just broke up with Camille and purposefully made himself ignorant, which is why he didn’t really try that hard to reach out to Alec. But he’s in a better place now and is finally willing to acknowledge how much he wants Alec, so he’s going to dive head first into it. Because Magnus is Extra when it comes to Alec Lightwood.
> 
> Alec, on the other hand, has been attracted to Magnus from the beginning but never acts on it because of his feelings for Jace and the fear of what his family will think. But after the wedding, Alec lets Jace go and winds up on Magnus’ doorstep. 
> 
> And the rest, as they say, is history.


End file.
